Don’t superimpose the negativity of proselytizing on sharing
Some people, alarmed by reports of overzealous missionaries, feel that proselytizing should be banned. It’s sadly true that some proselytizers do convert by hook or [...]
When we discuss a subject close to our hearts, our hearts come close
Suppose we have to attend some talk on a subject that doesn’t interest us. And suppose even the speaker is apathetic and is delivering the [...]
Go beyond excusing yourself and accusing yourself to realizing your self
When something we are doing goes wrong, our mind often pushes us towards two broad thought-patterns: excusing ourselves and accusing ourselves. In the first, we [...]
Krishna is not just our destination – he is also our companion
Suppose we flew to a distant land to meet a VIP whom we hadn’t met before. We landed, drove to his residence and knocked [...]
See people as subjects with volition, not objects for indoctrination
Some people hesitate to embark on a spiritual search because they fear that they may unwittingly end up in cults that brainwash people. Their fears [...]
Our willingness is more important than our willpower
When we strive to lead a principle-centered life, but falter and fail, we may lament, “I don’t have willpower.” Such feelings are natural and understandable. [...]
Being correct is not enough; we need to be correctly understood
Sometimes when we speak something important or insightful, we may think that we have done our part. But if others haven’t understood what we have [...]
Meditation shrinks our problems by increasing our awareness of Krishna’s greatness
Suppose in a cartoon when two characters are fighting, one character keeps becoming bigger; and the other keeps becoming smaller. For the dwarfed fighter, the [...]
The two endings of the Gita point to the same end
The Bhagavad-gita has two endings based on the two nested conversations that comprise its narrative. The outer, framing conversation is at Hastinapura between Sanjaya and [...]
Freedom to do what we like is not necessarily freedom – freedom to do what we should is
Consider alcoholics who want to break free from their addiction. They often place themselves voluntarily in rehabilitation clinics whose monitored environment takes away their freedom [...]
The Gita is a dharmic book that asks us to give up dharma – or does it?
The Bhagavad-gita (18.66) concludes with an intriguing call: Give up all religions (sarva-dharman parityajya). This begs the question – why would a religious book ask [...]
Surrender is expressed through not just helplessness but also readiness
The quintessential image of surrender is the chaste Draupadi, raising her hands in utter helplessness while being disrobed and calling out to Krishna for protection. [...]
Our role in doing things is contributive, not decisive
We do things all the time, yet we don’t often think of the various factors that go into things working out well. The Bhagavad-gita (18.14) [...]
The notion of doership is not an illusion – the notion of sole doership is
An oft-quoted Bhagavad-gita verse (03.27) asserts that those who think of themselves as doers are deluded. But we all intuitively perceive of ourselves as doers [...]
Our attachments reflect our capacity for determination
When we are unable to give up our attachments, we may become disheartened, thinking, “I have read so many books, heard so many talks, made [...]
Learning is driven by purposefulness; lamenting, by pointlessness
We all can and should learn from the past. By reviewing what we did, we can analyze what we did right and what we could [...]
Learn to see Krishna’s love with the eyes of knowledge
Our culture often bombards us with explicit images of what is considered to be love. If we equate love with such gushy expressions alone, we [...]
Where we are determines what we see
To a person on the North Pole, the equator is towards the south. But to a person on the South Pole, the same equator is [...]
Others can’t push if we stop pushing ourselves
Sometimes when a car doesn’t start, people may come around to push it, to get it to start. At such times, the combined efforts of [...]
Beware of the mind’s divide and rule strategy
A standard war strategy for defeating a strong enemy is divide and rule. The Bhagavad-gita (06.06) states that the mind can often act as our [...]
A respectable addiction is still an addiction
Usually, if someone gets addicted, the addiction attracts disapproval. While drinking at parties is considered in some circles as cool, still getting drunk isn’t. And [...]